Reflection on the closing of the iconic Dukem in Washington, D.C.

As you can see from the above news broadcast, the iconic Dukem restaurant in Washington, D.C. is closing! I knew this is going to happen when I came back to DC area about a year ago and ordered my favorite Beyaynetu (veggie combo with 12 items). The taste changed from what I remember. It was no longer as tasty as before. I was sad and disappointed. What was more saddening was the place was almost deserted. Few people here & there and couple occupying the bar stools. This place was very popular for long time among Ethiopians in DC area and the first from Ethiopian restaurants to have a receptionist at the entrance handling lines of people waiting for vacated tables. I attributed the changed atmosphere and taste of the food to the passing of the founder. 

I was introduced to Dukem by a roommate during my grad school days when it was just a store selling  traditional Ethiopian merchandise among other items. Right in the back of the store it had a kitchen where they prepare Ethiopian food for a carry out. For those who want to have their tasty food right there they had two tables with chairs in the back and few stools by the windows looking out to U Street. My roommate was introduced to their tasty food by none other than Ethiopian cabbies who if you know Ethiopian food landscape in the diaspora are the discoverers of the tastiest and the most authentic in town. At least in North American context.

I have written and made presentations on Ethiopian Food landscape in Washington D.C. and vicinity. Since Mama Desta's which is known to be the first to introduce Ethiopian food to the regular Washington area residents back in late '70s (Official Washington was introduced two decades earlier) so many establishments have come and gone. Many lose their doors within few years after their establishment. Some had promising beginnings. Customers (mostly Ethiopians flocking) to the restaurants especially in the night time to see some luminaries of Ethiopian music scene back in Ethiopia, performing in these restaurants. There is this thing called 'weret' in Amharic which can be loosely translated as 'hipped novelty'. It explains the phenomena of moving from one establishment to another when the novelty is no more or replaced by another newly opened one. Many are victims of such behavior on the part of ever moving customers. Back in the days, I was expecting the same fate for Dukem. To my surprise, it endured. 

Dukem grew from unassuming store & carry-out deli with tasty food to a real restaurant when the next door business establishment was gone. Soon after it expanded to its current place right on the corner of 12th & U Street when the liquor store with bigger space moved out. It became more popular destination for Ethiopians living in D.C. and the suburbs for its tasty food and for night time entertainment. Other factors also contributed for its growth and thriving business. 

U Street Metro & the transformation of Shaw neighborhood 

Around the time Dukem was expanding, the area known as Shaw neighborhood was undergoing transformation and most importantly a change in its demographic makeup. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) completed three stations which linked the truncated Green line. U Street/Shaw station opened just one block from Dukem. Mount Pleasant which was my neighborhood then also  benefited from the opening of  the nearby Columbia Heights station. There were many speculations as to why the three stations which were located in minorities residential areas were the last to get underground train service. In any case, what followed was old commercial and residential buildings along U street between 16th & Georgia Avenue (7th street) as well as in nearby vicinity being demolished and got replaced by luxury condos and apartments. Trendy restaurants and wine bars which were common in nearby Dupont Circle or Adams Morgan( 18th street) area moved east and replaced old convenient/liquor stores whose clientele were largely minorities or poor immigrants. Gentrification in full swing.

Some minority owned businesses such as Dukem and the iconic Hot Dog & Chilly place Ben Ali's benefited from the change. As young professionals (Yuppies) moved to the area in droves occupying the luxury condos & apartments, little by little the customers which frequent Dukem also changed. By this time Washington, D.C.has gained a reputation as the Mecca of Ethiopian Food & Drinks partially due to the increasing number of newspapers and magazines articles/reviews written about the Ethiopian food establishments. Even people from afar who learned about Ethiopian food from these magazine/newspaper articles/reviews wanted to have the experience. My wife who at the time was a concierge in one of the Dupont Circle hotels was frequently asked by guests about where to find Ethiopian food. She tells them if they are looking for authentic, Dukem would be the best. As often is the case, concierge's duty involves calling the restaurants and make reservations. When she called Dukem it was complicated. At the time even Dukem do not know such thing as 'reservation' and often the answer was 'just come'. She used to send the guests adding my line "when it comes to Ethiopian (for that matter many ethnic) food establishments, there is an inverse relationship between the food and the service. Even if services like reservations are not known, they can be compensated with really tasty food". 

It didn't take long for Dukem to add services like 'table reservation' and having receptionist by the entrance. By mid-2000s Dukem's clientele has become more and more non-Ethiopian. It stayed the same for decades. What was more surprising to see was people lining up outside waiting to be called "their table is ready." I used to say to friends 'this reverse the image/stereotype Americans/Westerners have about Ethiopia. I wish the western media show the scene of Americans lining up at the entrance of Dukem to savor Ethiopian food in the same way they broadcasted showing Ethiopians lining up to get food assistance from the West during the famines of the 1970s & '80s.

Dukem restaurant's success led to establishment of other successful businesses by close relatives of the owner. Hebesha Restaurant & Carry-out which is still popular among Ethiopians is one of them.  The Dukem restaurant that you see in the photo above is another which opened in Baltimore Maryland and is run by his sister and brother-in-law.  

 

It seems in recent years Dukem struggled especially after the sudden passing of the owner in Ethiopia while running other business he founded in his country of birth. As you can see from the clip below the family made appeals and people including celebrities responded favorably. It is unfortunate it will still be closing. Hence, here are couple of questions that popped up in my mind. One sort of an attempt on humor and the other a series one. 

Is weret (moving on to the new one) on the part of Ferenji (the non-Ethiopians) customers contributed to some extent for its  dwindling business? Do ferenjis suffer from Weret affliction?  Is the novelty dissipated or have they developed the knowledge of how a real authentic Ethiopian food taste and they also found it lacking?

 

 

The more serious one is Dukem's closing can be another manifestation of the decades-old pattern among ethnic restaurants be it Italian, Asian, Greek etc.. where members of the second & third generation unlike the first generation are unwilling to continue in restaurant business once one or both parents have passed. This can be understandable because the subsequent generations are like any other Americans or Canadians engaged in various mainstream professions or with different preoccupation or priorities. This is the main reason many restaurants in Little Italy in Baltimore are closing or ethnic enclaves like Greek Town are no longer or slowly relinquishing it to new comers from other parts of the world. This might be the start for long-staying Ethiopian restaurants in the area, but I believe others would have similar fate in the near future or in the long run, unfortunately.